Somi sparks controversy over inconsistent answers when asked about her reasons for leaving JYP

Controversy has arisen over Somi’s responses to the question about her decision to leave JYP. 

Jeon Somi is currently one of the most outstanding female soloists of the 4th generation. She turns 20 years old this year but at the age of 14-15, she participated in many famous survival shows such as SIXTEEN, Produce 101 and made her debut as a member and center of the project group IOI. 

Somi was a trainee under JYP Entertainment starting from 2014. She competed in SIXTEEN but could not end up in the final lineup of TWICE. From mid-2016 until early 2018, she was active in I.O.I. In the second half of 2018, she officially left JYP to join The Black Label.

Somi’s departure from JYP caught a great amount of attention at that time. Recently, on the show Turkids on the Block, Somi opened up about the reason for leaving her former company, “After I.O.I disbanded, I was not active for a long time.” When asked if she ever regretted the decision to move to a new agency, the female singer did not hesitate to answer no.

After the show was broadcast, Somi’s fans left comments that Somi made a wise decision. The reason is because The Black Label helps Somi showcase her own color more clearly, while JYP is always known for restricting their artist’s individual activities and overworking them. Thanks to The Black Label’s management, Somi is gaining much success as a solo singer and has much more potential for growth in the future.

However, when netizens “dig up” Somi’s statement in her debut showcase 2 years ago, they notice the consistency in her answers. Specifically, when asked about her reasons for leaving JYP, she responded: “We had different directions in terms of music. There were many discussions that took place between us around the time I was leaving. We talked to each other a lot. There was no conflict between us. We were both cheering each other on even when I decided to leave. I support JYP, and I think JYP also does the same”.

The fact that Somi recently said she left JYP because she could not have many promotions post. I.O.I somewhat contradicts her statement in 2019. This has sparked controversy among netizens. Some comments were left claiming that Somi should have answered more “wisely” to not “make JYP look bad”. Besides, some netizens believe that the reason given by Somi is also unreasonable because when I.O.I disbanded, JYP’s direction for Somi was to debut in ITZY, so it makes sense that she had to wait for the right time to debut. Additionally, Somi was not inactive after her contract with I.O.I ended. JYP also let Somi attend entertainment programs, collaborate with Eric Nam, and join the girl group formed by the show “Sister’s Slam Dunk“ to maintain her popularity during that time.